Corn planting begins…for some

The return of spring-like weather helped farmers make progress in planting corn across nearly one-quarter of the country’s top corn-producing states, primarily in Plains states.

In particular, corn planting updates were reported in four top corn-growing states:

Texas: Corn planting in the Lone Star State was reported at 54 percent, putting it slightly behind last year’s progress and 3 percentage points above the five-year average. More than one-quarter of the corn has emerged. Click here for the Texas Crop Progress report.

Missouri: According to the USDA’s report on Missouri Crop Progress and Condition, 2 percent of corn has been planted. This is on-par with last year’s report of 3 percent but behind the average of 7 percent. The majority of this corn has been planting in the southern tier of the Show Me State. Click here for the Missouri Crop Progress report.

Tennessee: The only state in the eastern half of the Corn Belt to report planting progress, Tennessee farmers have planted 2 percent of the state’s corn. Like Missouri, this week’s progress is above the 2013 report of 1 percent but significantly behind the five-year average of 12 percent. Click here for Tennessee’s Crop Progress report.

However, while progress is being made, the drought continues to thrive in many areas to the west of the Mississippi River.

According to the USDA’s latest Ag in Drought report, 31 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is within an area experiencing drought. This is the highest percentage reported since late-October. Read the full report here.